Strong Show by Manu Bhaker and Rahi Sarnobat at European Shooting Championship

 Khel Today Bureau

NEW DELHI: Tokyo 2020 bound Manu Bhaker and Rahi Sarnobat of India, finished 1-2 in the seven-strong Minimum Qualification Score (MQS) section of the Women’s 25M Pistol event at the European Shooting Championship in Osijek, Croatia, on Tuesday, as both shot well above the Regulars’ final qualification mark. Manu shot a quality 587, the fourth best overall score among Regulars and MQS combined, while Rahi’s return of 584 matched the sixth best Regulars score on the day. 

The top eight make it to the final of the Olympic event, which was eventually won by Frenchwoman Mathilde Lamolle. Among those in the classy field were reigning Olympic and World Champion Anna Korakaki, whose score of 581, meant that she missed the finals. Making it through however were former Olympic Champion Olena Kostevych of Ukraine and Rio-Olympics Silver medallist Vitalina Batsarashkina, as well as Hungarian ace Veronika Major.

The Indian women had shot a steady 291 after the first Precision round on Monday, and were positioned eighth overall at that stage. On Tuesday, Manu shot two perfect 100s in the Rapid Fire round for a tally of 296/300, the second best overall round of the day. 

Rahi Sarnobat after her round on Tuesday in Osijek

Rahi had two 99s and a 95 for a return of 293, helping her gain two spots from the previous day, in the overall rankings.

The heartening part of the performance was the marked improvement in scores from their last International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup stage at home in New Delhi, their last full international event after over a year. Rahi had won Silver then and Manu Bronze with qualifying round scores of 581 and 576 respectively.

The 13-member Indian Olympic Pistol and Rifle team is on a training-cum-competition trip to Croatia, where presently they are Shooting in the MQS rounds of Olympic events majorly, as invited guests. In the MQS rounds, athletes register official scores but do not compete for medals.

They will then be competing in the final ISSF World Cup stage scheduled to begin from June 22 at Osijek itself.